


Hush Little Baby

by OAF_80



Category: General Hospital (TV 1963)
Genre: F/M, Nelexis - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-29
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:20:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,761
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25540477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OAF_80/pseuds/OAF_80
Summary: Alexis is worried about Neil's whereabouts on the anniversary of his daughter's death.
Relationships: Neil Byrne/Alexis Davis (General Hospital)
Comments: 20
Kudos: 23





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Not quite a one-shot, but just a few short chapters to mark the occasion.

July 31, 2020

Alexis can feel the sunlight streaming in through the cracks in the blinds and winces at the intrusion into her slumber. She reaches over to the side of the bed for Neil. It’s funny, it’s only been a few weeks of him regularly sharing her bed, but it feels like much longer…like he belongs there with her. Once they finally decided to just be together, everything just fell into place and felt so...right. Even though they both risked it all that night in New York (and the morning after), neither has had any regrets about moving forward and starting a relationship.

It’s been easier for Neil to adjust to being unemployed, he was willing to throw it all away just to be with her from the first time he learned of the complaint against him to the medical ethics board. But Alexis…she’s had a much harder time adjusting to being disbarred. It’s not something she thought she’d ever be facing again. But a part of her knew it was a possibility when she decided to lie to protect Neil. She knew the risks, but she did it anyway. Protecting him was worth it, even though in the end it was all for nothing and they were caught and both ended up jobless, anyway. Neil has been working on a book that he began a few years prior, but got too busy to really work on. He hasn’t told her what it’s about, yet but he’s promised that he will let her read it when he’s ready. Alexis has been doing volunteer work, again. She found that the local women’s shelter has a need for someone that can help to refer clients to legal counsel. Even though she can’t technically give them legal advice, she’s been able to feel useful by giving clients referrals to lawyers and public services that can help them get back on their feet. It’s fulfilling being able to help women in need at their most vulnerable time.

When she reaches over to find Neil, to cuddle in a little closer to avoid the reality that morning has come and that they’ll soon need to disentangle themselves from each other to start their day, she realizes that his side of the bed is cold and he’s not there. His scent, that intoxicating scent that is a mix of woodsy, pure male and is uniquely Neil, still lingers on the sheets, but she can tell he’s been gone for a while. She lets out a disappointed sigh wondering where he went. This is the first morning since they decided to just “go for it” that she’s woken up alone. 

It dawns on her how much she has already gotten used to him being there and how jarring it is that he’s not there with her in this moment. He’s not there to wrap his arms around her and kiss her awake. She’s gotten used to early morning snuggles and lovemaking sessions. They are still in that honeymoon phase, after all and the sex has not yet slowed down or become routine. There is still so much to learn about each other’s bodies and wants and desires that she can’t imagine there ever being a time when they aren’t tearing each other’s clothes off at any given moment.

“Neil?” she calls out, positive that he’s somewhere nearby. She can smell the aroma of freshly brewed coffee downstairs. Hearing no response, she grabs her robe from the chair next to the bed and wraps it around her naked body, suddenly all too-aware of their activities from the night before and their effect on every part of her body. Everything hurts just a little bit, but in the most glorious way. She can’t help but smile a little as she remembers the intensity of the intimacy they shared last night. Every night feels like the first and she can’t help but wonder if it will ever feel routine. She’s sure that’s impossible.

Hearing no response to her call out to him, Alexis makes her way downstairs, only to find that the house is empty and she is alone. There is a full pot of coffee, freshly brewed, on the counter in the kitchen and an empty mug left out for her right next to the coffee maker. There is no other sign of Neil and as she takes her coffee into the living room, she notices his shoes are not by the door and a quick look outside reveals that his car is gone. 

She can’t help but feel the disappointment creep in as she takes her coffee over to the couch. She picks up her phone and today’s newspaper from the desk on the way and notices the notification light is blinking on her phone. There’s a text from Neil waiting for her.

> “You were sleeping so peacefully, I couldn’t bear to wake you. I made a pot of coffee for you before I left and grabbed your paper off the porch and left it on your desk. I may be out of touch for a while, today. I may be late tonight, but I’ll be back. I promise.”

She stares at her phone, but isn’t really comforted by his message at all. She’s glad to know that he didn’t just leave without a word, but it’s not like him to just leave without a proper goodbye. His message was more cryptic than usual, but he did say he’d be back, so she can at least take comfort in that.

She takes a sip of her coffee smiles a little at the taste since he somehow always manages to make it perfectly. She can never get it quite right and she just can’t understand how his always tastes better, but it does. He is gifted at many things, as she’s learned recently, but coffee is one she just doesn’t understand. How can his always taste so much better? It’s her coffee, her water and her coffee maker. She’s certain that they make it basically the same, but his always tastes like heaven and hers a little bit like mud.

As she picks up today’s copy of the Port Charles Herald, she notices the date on the top corner and nearly spills her coffee: July 31, 2020. How could she have possibly forgotten?! She’s been so wrapped up in their new relationship and all of the amazing things they have begun experiencing together, she nearly forgot about the significant date that was coming up: the anniversary of Joanna’s death. The anniversary of the day that changed everything for the two of them a year ago in that elevator. The day where Neil finally let go of his therapist persona for a few hours and opened up to her about his daughter. The day that meant so much to the both of them and changed everything.


	2. Chapter 2

The realization of what today means to Neil and the fact that Alexis missed seeing him this morning or even being able to acknowledge the importance of today was like a punch in the gut. They’ve grown so close over the last few months, she can’t figure out why he would just take off for the day without talking to her about it. Last year, they had shared such a special and meaningful time together on this day that she’ll never forget how much it meant to her for him to finally open up to her. 

She stared at his message on her phone for several minutes while trying to figure out what to do. Ultimately, she decided to respond to his text and just make sure that he knows that she cares about him and supports him, whatever he needs. It took her what felt like an eternity to type out just a few, short sentences. She wanted to make sure the tone was _just_ right.

> “I’m sorry I missed you this morning. The house felt empty without you here. Thank you for the coffee—yours is always so much better than mine. I’m here for you if you need me today, but I understand if you need some time alone. I miss you already and am looking forward to seeing you tonight. [heart emoji]”

She sighed as she clutched the phone to her heart after pressing send. Alexis wasn’t sure what to think of Neil disappearing for the day. The last few times he’s talked to her about Joanna, he’s seemed to be in good spirits, but still, she can’t help but wonder if he’s hurting and she wishes she could be there to comfort him.

Knowing that there was nothing more that she could do for him until he reaches out to her, Alexis decided the best course of action was to carry on with her day. She checked in with the womens’ shelter to see if there were any clients there that needed her help and was told that they had just taken in a new domestic violence case and she could use some advice and a referral. Knowing that helping this woman was the most useful thing she could do in the moment, she hurried to shower and get ready to go visit the shelter and do what she does best: help people.

Alexis spent the rest of the day in a whirlwind of activity, running errands, having lunch with Molly and meeting with Nikolas about some Cassadine investments. Even though she couldn’t technically be the lawyer for the estate any longer, she was still able to advise Nikolas and refer him to a good attorney that she trusted. It wasn’t until right before her lunch with Molly that she finally received another text from Neil, but it was very brief and still didn’t give her any clues about what was going on with him:

> “Thank you. That means a lot to me. I miss you, too. I’ll see you tonight. I should be back around 6 or 7.”

He also added his own heart emoji at the end of his message to mirror the one she sent him. It wasn’t much, but it did reassure her, at least. 

Molly could tell she was distracted at lunch, but Alexis didn’t want to involve her daughter in her relationship more than she had to. It was bad enough that all three of her daughters learned exactly what led to her being disbarred. Sure, they all seem to be happy for her now that she and Neil are actually in a solid relationship, but it was a bit of a messy road to getting there. She is happy though, that for maybe the first time in her life, all three of her daughters are thrilled with her choice of romantic partners. She’s so used to the disapproval and disappointment of others regarding her love life, it feels very foreign to have approval and enthusiasm from nearly everyone in her life regarding Neil. He really is a change of pace for her and is such a great guy. When she first started seeing him as a patient, he told her that he would help to guide her away from people that were not good to her or for her and help to lead her to healthier relationships. While she was attracted to him from the very start, she never realized that he would ultimately be the man she would end up falling for. He was the one that would actually be her healthier choice and for maybe the first time in her life, a truly healthy relationship. She can’t help but wonder if she is actually good enough to deserve him, though. She wouldn’t be Alexis Davis if she didn’t have doubts about her own worth when it came to love.

As her day neared the end, Alexis’ anxiety level cranked up to an eleven. She couldn’t help it. She hadn’t heard from Neil again for the rest of the day. She kept imagining him in some sort of funk surrounded by dark clouds over his head. Finally at a little after 5pm, her phone made that familiar sound that she had assigned to Neil’s texts and her heart gave a little flutter as she rushed to check to read the message.

> “Sorry, I’m running a little later than I thought I would. I ran into some traffic delays. Please don’t wait for me for dinner. I’ll grab something along the way. I’ll bring dessert back for us, though.” 

He ended his text with a wink emoji which just served to confuse Alexis even more. He was apparently travelling, today. Somewhere far enough away that he got caught up in traffic. And what is that wink about? What does that mean? Alexis spent the day thinking that he was so distraught with grief that he was isolating himself from her, but the use of the emoji has totally thrown her off. Modern communication can be so easily misconstrued in its intent that she decided to not dwell on it too much and just do as he asked. She made herself a simple dinner and settled in on the couch to watch the daily news on her favorite cable news station.

Alexis awoke to a knock at the door. She was disoriented for a minute as she realized that she must have fallen asleep watching the TV. She turned it off with the remote and rushed to the door to answer it. Even though he stayed at her house most nights, he was still a guest and knocked before entering every time.

Alexis could see his mussed hair through the blinds and was relieved to see him standing there as she opened the door. He offered her a soft smile as she ushered him inside the door. He held a paper bag in his hand, which he placed on the shelf behind her before wrapping his arms around her and greeting her with a proper, but soft kiss as he closed the door behind him. She returned the kiss in kind and relished in the feel of his arms around her as her own sought out his strong back. As they separated, Alexis looked up to him and offered him a simple “Hi”.

“Hi,” he returned, their now familiar greeting reminiscent of their first night (and morning) together.

“I missed you.” She craned her neck around him to peer at the bag he had brought with him. “What do you have there?”

Neil picked up the bag and carried it to the couch before opening it pulling out two small containers of ice cream and two spoons. As they sat down together he said, “I hope you like mint chocolate chip. It was Joanna’s favorite.”


	3. Chapter 3

Alexis wasn’t exactly expecting Neil’s current mood. He seems fine. Content. Not sad and grieving and she’s not sure how to handle this. She was expecting something completely different than the Neil that just walked in her door carrying ice cream. Mint chocolate chip. Joanna’s favorite flavor.

She takes the container and spoon he is offering her. “Thank you. I do like it. It’s a classic and definitely one of my favorites, too.” She waits and watches his face to try to read him, but when he leans back and opens his own container, she decides she’s just going to follow his lead and let him set the pace. She can tell by the way he looks at her that he’s got something to share, but she decides that it’s best to just let this play out on his terms.

He offers up his spoon as a sort of “cheers” before indulging, so she grants him a smile and a tap of her spoon before taking her first mouthful. Neil leans back on the couch, ice cream and spoon in hand and offers up a small smile of his own and takes a breath and begins to speak.

“When Joanna was about 10 years old, she was going through an independent phase. Nothing too crazy, but she was pressing the rules about bedtimes, homework, spending extra time out with neighborhood friends, telephone time, the usual for a 10 year old at the time.”

Alexis takes a bite of the ice cream, which really is fantastic—it’s from a local creamery in town that makes it in-house. She waits for him to continue his trip down memory lane as she savors the treat he brought and gives him a reassuring smile.

“One of the rules in our house was that food was to be eaten in the kitchen or on the patio in the back yard. On rare occasions, it was allowed in the living room, but never in the bedroom. Well, of course, she was 10 and was pushing all the rules as much as she could. One night, she snuck off to the kitchen and grabbed the carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream out of the freezer, which we bought just for her, and took it back to her bedroom. She proceeded to eat about half of it before falling asleep.” He chuckled at the memory as he took another spoonful of the minty, green treat. 

Alexis noticed a tiny, melty drip that had escaped his spoon and had landed on his bearded chin. The green was a nice contrast to the silver hairs there and you couldn’t miss it. Alexis reached over to wipe it off with her finger, using that as an excuse to reach out and touch his soft beard which she had grown to love so much. She never thought she’d like a bearded man, but it really suited Neil. She was glad he seemed as fond of it as she was and was keeping it. His eyes seared into hers as she brought the dollop of ice cream to her mouth. For a moment, she lost herself and then suddenly realized it may be inappropriate to be getting a little turned on by him while he tells her a story of his late daughter and felt her face flushing red. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it,” she explained sheepishly.

He let out a small chuckle as he was compelled to rub his chin to make sure she got it all. His warm hazel eyes reassured her that he didn’t mind the interruption and sign of affection. “So, anyway, it wasn’t until the next morning that she was totally busted. And I do mean totally.” He laughed at the memory and she was eager to be let in on the joke. But for now, she just smiled at seeing him so fondly remembering his daughter when she was young and before she began to withdraw from her parents.

“So, it was a Sunday morning and we had plans to go down town to the local farmer’s market, so I went in to her room to wake her up and I found quite the sight when I opened the door. That half-eaten carton of ice cream that she couldn’t finish had melted in the night and was spilled all over her bed and blankets and had dripped into a considerable puddle on the floor. It had seeped through the sheets and she was quite liberally coated in green goo and was so soundly asleep that she had no idea.” Again, Neil had to pause to laugh at the memory.

“Oh, no!” Alexis shared his laugh and pressed him to continue. “And then what happened?”

“Well…I leaned down and gently touched her non-sticky, green arm and nudged her awake. And as any 10-year old would, she groaned and then rolled over…” he stopped to laugh again. Alexis couldn’t stop herself from laughing along with him while waiting for him to continue. “…right on to the puddle of melted ice cream! She screamed, of course and jumped out of bed, confused and mortified. I was trying so hard to be a good dad and not laugh at her situation, but I failed completely and just lost it and bowled over with laughter, which led to some hysterics and her running off to the bathroom and slamming the door.”

Neil couldn’t help himself now and let out a full out belly-laugh. His laugh was contagious because it such a rare treat, and Alexis couldn’t help but join in with him. He bent forward to put his ice cream and spoon on the coffee table. And met her eyes, which only made the both of them laugh harder. When they both finally stopped, Alexis noticed the unshed tears in his eyes and reached over and put her hands on his arm and moved toward him and touched her forehead to his. “Oh, Neil.”

He eagerly took her offer of comfort and leaned into her. “She was an amazing kid. I wish you could have met her. When she was younger, we were so close. Used to take her camping, just the two of us. She was so happy and outgoing, always up for an adventure.”

Alexis noticed one single tear had slipped out and made its way down his cheek. She wiped it away and leaned forward to give him a gentle kiss. “I wish I could have seen you as her dad.”

He wrapped his arms around her and it was impossible to tell who was holding who. Alexis was so moved by his memory and display of emotion, that she couldn’t stop her own tears from falling silently. They both just stayed there, wrapped in each other’s arms for a few moments until the silence between them became a little too loud and uncomfortable. There was so much more yet to talk about.

Alexis pulled away and thought that Neil might appreciate a moment, so she gave him a soft kiss on his cheek, the very one where she had just wiped the tear from, and gathered up their discarded ice cream cartons to take to the kitchen. “I could use a drink of water. Can I get you anything?”

“Water would be great. Thank you.” His soft eyes met hers in appreciation. He knew she was giving him a moment to re-set.

When she returned to him a few minutes later carrying two glasses of water, both of them had had a chance to take a breath and re-balance their emotions. The bond between them was already so strong that caring for each other was becoming instinctual with each of them always knowing what the other needed.

When Alexis returned to the room, Neil had removed his shoes and settled into a more comfortable and relaxed position on the couch. He thanked her as she handed him a glass. She returned to her spot next to him and settled in and waited for him to finally tell her about his day.


	4. Chapter 4

Alexis reached her hand over to Neil and he eagerly welcomed the gesture of comfort. He looked down at their entwined hands and focused on the familiar way her smaller, more delicate hand fit into his larger one as he began to speak.

“I’m sorry I left like that this morning. I wasn’t trying to cut you out or avoid you in any way. I wasn’t trying to hide anything from you. I left like that because it was a spur of the moment decision and I knew that if I thought about it too much, if I hesitated in any way, I would have lost my nerve.” Alexis gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and urged him to continue. Neil continued to focus on their hands as he went on, “I went to see Joanna today.”

Alexis turned toward him, wide-eyed, “What? I don’t understand. Wait….Is she…?”

Neil, finally pulled from his focus on their hands when he realized how that sounded to Alexis and shook his head as he turned to look at her, finally. “Sorry, that didn’t come out right.” He paused again, contemplating his next words so as to not further confuse Alexis, who was clearly waiting for an explanation. “I went to New Jersey. To the cemetery at St. Ignatius in Montclair. I haven’t been able to make myself go there since her funeral.”

Alexis sighed softly, finally understanding. “Oh...never?”

“Never. I just couldn’t. Yet another example of the therapist in me failing to be a put-together and mentally healthy person, right? I mean, I’ve spent my life helping others, listening to them and advising them about how to heal, how to move forward, but I couldn’t do it myself. I had this…hang up about actually going there. I think deep down, it made it too real for me, so I just...haven’t.”

“But you did, finally. Are you ok?” Alexis, always the fixer, before seeking out any further details, needed to make sure that Neil knew he had her support.

He offered her a gentle smile, “Yes. I am, actually. I really needed today. I finally feel like I got to say all of the things to Joanna that I’ve needed to say to her for a very long time. I was holding on to way too much guilt…and…I think I’m finally ready to forgive myself for everything I’ve been blaming myself for ever since her death.”

“Haven’t you told me on occasion, multiple occasions, actually, how unhealthy it was for _me_ to shoulder the blame for things that were beyond _my_ control?”

Neil raised his eyebrows slightly at Alexis repeating his own words and assessments back to him. “Exactly. My motto as a therapist really should have been ‘Do as I say, not as I do.’ It’s a lot harder when it’s your own life and your own inability to follow through with your best advice.”

“It just shows that even you are human, too.” Alexis felt his hand let go of hers and she was momentarily disappointed and worried she had said something to upset him, but he quickly leaned back into the couch and put his now free arm around her, pulling her into his embrace.

“It appears to be so,” he shrugged.

“So what changed? Why were you suddenly ready to go to her grave today?”

“Well…that is THE question, isn’t it? I don’t think I was ready before now. So much has changed for me in the last few years, and especially in the last one. These last few months, in particular.” He gave her shoulder a little knowing squeeze and she just looked up at him. He knew she understood that he meant her. “So...you know that book I’ve been working on?”

“The one you told me you were writing but have been very cagey about its subject matter?”

“That’s the one,” he offered with a sheepish grin before his face fell serious, again. “It’s about loss. More specifically healing from and rebuilding after loss. Not just death, but every kind of loss from death to breakups to losing a job, your home, any kind of traumatic loss in life that causes major emotional upheaval. Overcoming obstacles, moving on, moving forward. I realized as I started to put my notes together to write it, that it was going to end up being largely autobiographical. It’s not about me, specifically, but there is so much of it that I’m drawing from my own life and my own experiences that I knew that I had to overcome my own demons first, in order to be able to feel like I could truly offer anyone advice on doing the same.

“Last night after we went to bed and after you had fallen asleep, I was just lying there staring at the ceiling and I was thinking a lot about what the anniversary of today, of Joanna’s death, meant to me and how I would mark it. I thought back to last year and how my plans were interrupted by us getting stuck in that elevator and how even though I wasn’t able to complete my karaoke ritual at a bar, you helped me redefine the ritual. And then, I started thinking about my book and my own journey with healing and rebuilding my life and I knew that I wouldn’t be able to finish it if I didn’t take the steps to truly help myself heal and move forward.” He cleared his throat and looked over at her again and offered, “And then I finally fell asleep.”

“And this morning?” Alexis asked.

“After way too little sleep, I woke up way to early and I just knew what I had to do. It’s about a 5 hour drive to get there, so I needed to get on the road right away. I hated leaving you asleep without giving you a proper goodbye. You’re so beautiful and peaceful when you sleep and snore so softly,” he winked at her.

“I do not snore!” she smacked him lightly as she protested.

“You do a little. It’s cute. It’s like little kitten snores….if that kitten was baby tiger.”

Alexis narrowed her eyes at him and said, “I see someone is itching to sleep on the couch tonight.” Neil pulled Alexis toward him and laid a loud, exaggerated kiss on her cheek in apology, which made her squirm and laugh and immediately forgive him. “OK, fine. Just don’t do it again.”

Neil grinned at her and then was quiet for a moment, he wasn’t yet finished telling Alexis everything he had decided he needed to on his long drive back to Port Charles and he it was time to be serious, yet again.

“So, when I got to the cemetery and made my way to Joanna’s grave site, at first I didn’t really know what to do or say, so I just sat down on the ground. I just sat there in silence for quite a while before I finally found my voice. I told her how much I loved her and missed her every single day. I told her about how sorry I was that I didn’t come to see her sooner. And that I was sorry that I didn’t see her cries for help before it was too late and we had already started to lose her.”

“It wasn’t your fault, Neil. You have to see that.”

“I do, actually. It took me a very long time to finally see that, but I do know that, deep down, there’s nothing more I could have done to prevent her death. And I told her that, too. It was quite a long conversation. And when I was finished apologizing, I started to tell her about all the good things in my life. All the amazing things she’s missed. I told her what was happening with our family. With my brother and his kids and I told her about all the changes in my life.” He smiled down at her before continuing, because he was almost at the point that he really needed to tell her. The part about moving on and rebuilding his life, the key part of his book, the aspirational part of rebuilding your life after loss.

“I told her about how I picked up and moved to Port Charles and opened up a new practice. And then one day, I met this amazing, complicated, high-strung woman at a bar and my whole life changed.”

Alexis raised her eyebrows and said, “Oh, really? She must be something special. Do, go on!”

Neil shook his head and grinned at her, “Yeah, she’s a real pain in the ass sometimes, but damn do I ever love her. I threw away my whole career as a therapist just to be with her and I haven’t regretted it for a second.”

Alexis’ mouth fell open as she realized what he just admitted to her. They haven’t said those words to each other before. She wasn’t quite sure she wasn’t hearing things. “Wait…go back…what?”

“The part about her being a pain in the ass?”

“No, after that.”

“Oh…you mean the part about loving her?” he teased.

Alexis nodded.

“I meant it, Alexis. I love you. I think I probably fell in love with you the moment you walked up to me at that bar muttering something about an arrogant bastard.”

“I’m just that charming.”

“Indeed, you are. You have no idea how difficult it was for me keeping those feelings in check, denying them, for all those months while you were my patient. While I was your therapist, while I was your _daughter’s_ therapist. I kept finding myself slipping once in a while, especially with you always testing those _boundaries_.”

“Oh, yes…boundaries.” Alexis had broken out into a full-out grin as she leaned in and said, “Boundaries were meant to be broken.” She took his softly bearded face into her hands and kissed him. Gently at first, but then more insistent as he wrapped his arms tightly around her. She reluctantly broke the kiss and pulled away, just slightly to say, “Oh, by the way, just in case you were wondering…I love you, too.”

“Yeah?”

“I mean…you’re alright, I guess,” she couldn’t help but tease him a little.

Neil rolled his eyes at her and grinned, “Aw, you’re so sweet when you’re being mean to me.”

Alexis reached over to tickle the hairs on his chin and winked at him and then snuggled back in to his chest and urged him to finish telling her about his conversation with Joanna, “So, where did we leave off? You told your daughter about this amazing, smart, always super sweet and charming woman that you fell in love with and…”

“And…she really helped me to heal in so many ways. She taught me…YOU taught me how to live, again. How to see the world for the amazing place that it is. And even though we may have gone about it the wrong way and may have both caused irreparable damage to our careers, just for the chance to be together, I believe that I am exactly where I’m supposed to be right now. I’ve been broken and living my life in a sort of haze ever since Joanna died, but you’ve helped me to truly heal and opened my heart so that I can see that I have so much more to give the world. I’m hoping that we can both figure out how to be more than our careers, together.”

“Together.”

“And before I left her and headed back here to you, I made sure to sing her Hush Little Baby before saying goodbye.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! This story was a challenge for me to write since it's been about 10 years since I've written anything creative. I hope I've done Neil and Alexis justice. This story was more Neil's story, even though he didn't show up until chapter 3. So many wonderful writers have been able to capture Alexis far better than I could ever hope to, but Neil is still so new to us and is still very much a mystery to unwrap.


End file.
